Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/789,242

COMPOSITION COMPRISING BETA LACTAM FOR TREATING ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE AND ALCOHOL ASSOCIATED DISEASES OR CONDITIONS

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jul 30, 2024
Priority
Jul 31, 2023 — provisional 63/516,547
Examiner
ROBINSON, MIKHAIL O'DONNEL
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
The University of Toledo
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
58%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 4m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 58% of resolved cases
58%
Career Allowance Rate
69 granted / 120 resolved
-2.5% vs TC avg
Strong +43% interview lift
Without
With
+42.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
43 currently pending
Career history
159
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
64.5%
+24.5% vs TC avg
§102
11.7%
-28.3% vs TC avg
§112
6.8%
-33.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 120 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 6-8 and 11-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wong et al; Effects of a Novel Beta Lactam Compound, MC-100093, on the Expression of Glutamate Transporters/Receptors and Ethanol Drinking Behavior of Alcohol-Preferring Rats, Pharma Journal, December 2022, Pages 208-216. Regarding claims 1, 6-8 and 11-22, Wong teaches a method for the treatment or preventing alcohol dependence comprising administration of the novel beta lactam compound MC-100093, PNG media_image1.png 77 183 media_image1.png Greyscale (3S, 4R)-3-((R)- (1-hydroxy-ethyl)-4-((R)-[1-methyl-2-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-yl)-2-oxo-ethyl]-azetidin-2-one (relevant to claims 1, 6-7, 14, 16, 19 and 21) (abstract). The chronic alcohol/ethanol consumption as taught by Wong is associated with dysregulation of the glutamatergic system in the brain and the liver and more specifically the expression of GLT-1, which is upregulated in the liver of chronic alcohol/ethanol consumption subjects. The treatment taught by Wong is of 50 mg/kg of MC-100093 administered by injection, which reduces the expression of glutamate transporter 1 (GL T-1) (relevant to claims 11-13, 15, 17-18, 22) (abstract, Pg. 212 last para.). Wang additionally teaches the ethanol drinking was associated with the development of fatty liver disease by the upregulation of GLT-1, in which the treatment prevents the development of fatty liver disease (relevant to claim 20) (Pg. 2015, 1st para.). In terms of claim 8, it is known in the art an excipient is used for oral or injection administration of a compound for therapeutic uses. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 2-5 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong et al; Effects of a Novel Beta Lactam Compound, MC-100093, on the Expression of Glutamate Transporters/Receptors and Ethanol Drinking Behavior of Alcohol-Preferring Rats, Pharma Journal, December 2022, Pages 208-216 in view of Childers et al. (US Patent No. 9975879). The teachings of Wong for the above 102 rejections of claims 1, 6-8 and 11-22 is incorporated herein by reference. Wong additionally teaches the mentioned method for treatment being administered to rats by a study of analyzing ethanol and control water group rats by their brain and liver tissue dissection. Wong fails to teach the administration of other beta lactam compounds of claims 2-5 of claimed invention as well as administration to a human mammal. Childers teaches pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of drug addition, drug withdrawal and diseases or conditions that involve dysregulation of glutamate homeostasis comprising administration of PNG media_image2.png 108 179 media_image2.png Greyscale , wherein A and R6 is of the same limitations as claimed invention (relevant to claims 2-5) (Pg. 3-4) and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient (Pg. 5). Childers additionally teaches in a specific embodiment MC-100093 administered at 50 mg/kg to restore GLT-1 expression levels back to normal that are upregulated (Pg. 6). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have administered the compounds taught by Childers to treat alcohol dependence. One would have been motivated to do so from the teachings of Wong on MC-100093, a beta lactam to treat alcohol dependence in a rat model and the teaching of Childers of the parent compound of PNG media_image2.png 108 179 media_image2.png Greyscale with its embodiments to treat drug addiction and withdrawal. The teachings of Wong and Childers is of the same GLT-1 expression known to be upregulated in alcohol and drug addiction and withdrawals. There is a reasonable expectation of treating alcohol dependence with the compounds of claimed invention from the teachings of Wong and Childers. One would additionally administer the compounds to human mammals as it is known in the art the testing of animal models is standard practice and routine experimentation to test the efficacy of a therapeutic to be then used in living humans. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-0777. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kortney Klinkel can be reached at 571-270-5239. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. MIKHAIL O'DONNEL. ROBINSON Examiner Art Unit 1627 /MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1627 /SARAH PIHONAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1627
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 30, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12673954
BENZOFURAN COMPOUNDS AS STING AGONISTS
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12667551
RENAL FUNCTION MAINTENANCE AND PROTECTION AGENT, AND METHOD FOR EVALUATING EFFECT THEREOF
5y 6m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12668581
PROCESSES FOR THE PREPARATION OF GLASDEGIB AND SALT THEREOF AND SOLID STATE FORMS OF GLASDEGIB MALEATE AND PROCESS FOR PREPARATION THEREOF
3y 11m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12655154
CRYSTALLINE SOLVATED FORMS OF N-(4-(1-(2,6-DIFLUOROBENZYL)-5- ((DIMETHYLAMINO)METHYL)-3-(6-METHOXY-3-PYRIDAZINYL)-2,4-DIOXO-1,2,3,4- TETRAHYDROTHIENO[2,3-D]PYRIMIDIN-6-YL)PHENYL)-N'-METHOXYUREA
4y 2m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12649725
Synthesis of small molecules inspired by Phomoxanthone A
4y 10m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
58%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+42.7%)
3y 4m (~1y 4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 120 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month